Honest To Goodness
by Nerd of Camelot
Summary: Time passes so quickly when you're having fun, but then, why is Frida's High School life going by in such a flash? Could it be the anticipation for all of it to finally be over, or something else entirely? Find out! R&R. (Might put this up in Spanish too.) M for swearing.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yeah, sucky name, I know. But it'll end up making sense... I think. I'm only on chapter 3 right now, kind of like _Suddenly A Ringtail_, except that one has 6 as of right now. Anyway, this first chapter is like a Diary Entry. The rest will be more action based, less ranty.**

* * *

Reflection

**Frida's POV **

Life has gone by so fast these last few years. You'd think it was because of all the pranks I've probably pulled with Manny, but that's not the case at all.  
In fact, Manny and I aren't even friends anymore!

I bet you can guess how happy that made my Papi. He's been trying so hard to get me to make new friends, but I really don't like anybody else in this school enough to do more than talk to them for a little while.

Geez, I'm only a Sophomore, and I just can't wait for Graduation Day. That should tell you something, right there. Usually I'd be looking forward to all the pranking opportunities and all the trouble I could get into, but without Manny, none of it's fun anymore.

Django has tried to find out what happened, and so has Chipotle, and even Puma Loco wants to know.

And I'll come right out and say it—Manny's dating _her_. He's dating that evil little bitch Zoe Avez! He _knows_ we hate each other and that he can't be friends with both of us. It's a fact both of us tried to drill into his head our whole childhood.

Thing is, though, she doesn't even gloat about it. She just holds his hand and looks smug, like she knows that's enough to piss me off.  
But let's get away from that subject before I start setting stuff on fire.

The reason everything is going so fast, well, I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's just how much I hate Zoe for stealing Manny, but that's probably not the case. I just can't figure it out.

Then again, it could be this calling I hear every night. It's this quiet voice murmuring my name every time I start to doze off. It annoyed me at first, but now it's just a part of falling asleep at night.

Recently it's been getting louder and a little bit more urgent. I'm getting tempted to ask Django about it, he might know what it is. But more overpowering is this feeling that I shouldn't tell anyone about it. I guess that's why I'm writing this.

Well, anyway I guess I'll go to bed now.

Frida Suárez, out!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here is chapter 1. Oh, and I don't own El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera. That belongs to Jorge Gutierrez. Thank you. BTW, |spoilers| the 'I need you' thing near the middle is a trick to get Frida out of the house |end spoilers**|.

Powers

**Frida's** **POV**

I put my journal back in the desk after writing a lengthy rant about Zoe on one of the few blank pages I had left in it. Frankly, I wanted to burn the damn thing. Manny had given it to me for my birthday when we were middle schoolers, and over the past few years I'd filled it with every single detail about both him and Zoe that I hated.

I sighed in defeat and moved across my room to my bed, flopping down onto it's uncomfortable softness. I really liked my old bed better, even if it DID feel a bit like a stone slab.

"_Frida_... _Frida_..."

I blinked when the voice entered my thoughts. It sounded a little more urgent than usual.

_"Frida... Come to me, Frida_..."

That set off some alarm bells in my head. Every one of my "OMG, this is probably a trap" alarms, to be exact.

_"Please, Frida Suárez... Come to me... I need you..."_

The alarms faded a little. Whoever called my name every night needed me? This couldn't go on for much longer if the voice was that urgent...  
I got up and made my way to the door of my room. Carefully, I crept down the stairs, skipping the fifth and second ones, because they creaked.  
My father's voice reached my ears, and I froze.

"Surely she has figured it out by now. She's 16 for Pete's sake!" He was saying to my mother.

Neither of them were looking in my direction, or the direction of the door. I didn't really want to know what they were talking about, so I ran as quietly as I could and slipped unnoticed out into Miracle City.

"_Frida_..."

I changed direction to follow the voice. It led me through the streets of Miracle City, past Manny's apartment, through the slums... Finally it stopped at the outskirts of town.

_"Hurry, Frida... Enter the cave to your left..."_

Something was off about that, but I wasn't about to give up the chase after this voice had dragged me all the way through the city. I began to walk down the tunnel.

It went farther and farther down, and the pressure began to change. Just as the air started to thicken to an almost unbreathable level, the tunnel levelled out. Before me was a vast and empty cavern, and there was no sign of anything that could have been calling my name.

I growled to myself and continued farther into the cavern. Then I realized something. It should have been pitch black this far beneath the surface, especially since it was hell no o'clock, but I could see perfectly, better than usual, in fact.

Suspicion mounting, I called out, "Hello?"

"_Frida Suárez_."

"Yes...?"

_"Come closer. I am at the center of the cavern._"

"There's nothing at the center of the cavern but more rocks, but okay..."

When I was about four steps away, a brilliant light briefly blinded me.

_"It is time you knew of this... Your father thinks you already know, but he is wrong."_

Suddenly, a snippet of the conversation he'd been having with my mother surfaced.

_"Yes, her powers seem to be surfacing, my dea. But I don't think she knows..."_

_"But what if she does? Maybe she is keeping it from us."_

"Powers...? Wait, what powers?"

_"Your family has passed down spectacular powers for generations, on both sides. But the powers are not always immediately known. On your mother's side, the girls must have their heart broken, and on your father's, the girls must have a grudge on someone who was once their friend."_

"That's awfully specific..." I muttered, "But it sounds like me all right. But why are they surfacing now?"

"_The powers you have require an awakener. To be able to do even the smallest of things with them, you must meet the one person who can tell you about them - in other words, me_."

I nodded, taking a relatively deep breath. "Is that why I can see so well now?"

"_Yes_."

The light faded out, and in its place sat a kitten. It was striped like a tiger, much to my personal dismay. It was seated on a rock that let it look me right in the eye. It opened its mouth.

"Take me home with you, and let your parents know what I am. We can start your training any time you'd like."

It hopped onto my shoulder and back off in the direction of the cavern entrance. Didn't look like I had much of a choice in the matter.

I followed it back out and to my house. I opened the door and walked right into my dad. "Frida, where in the world did you go?"

I picked up the cat and said, "I just found out about my powers. This little guy here is my awakener."

Everything I saw now was perfectly sharp, the colors more vibrant. My dad seemed to realize this and nodded. "Okay, go ahead and go back up to bed... I'll notify the school of your situation."

I made my way to my room, idly wondering why he would have to tell the school, but I put it aside. Maybe so I wouldn't get in as much trouble if my powers got loose...?

I had no idea.

The cat curled up next to me when I laid down, and for the first time in a few years, I felt glad for the sight of tiger stripes.

"Do you have a name?" I asked sleepily.

"Desta." She yawned back, "Most people assume I'm a boy, but I'm really not."

I smiled and lightly petted her, "Goodnight, Desta."


End file.
